FAMILY LAW

Child Support

Smart, Compassionate, Tenacious Charlotte Child Support Attorneys

For divorcing or separating parents in North Carolina, making sure their children are well-provided for is a priority. At the same time, they usually have concerns about how child support is calculated, how it will be paid and used, and how support orders will be enforced. At Sodoma Law, we work to take the anxiety out of child support for our clients, and provide them with peace of mind that their children will receive the support they deserve.

In North Carolina, parents may arrive at a reasonable agreement regarding child support, which may become part of their separation agreement or a consent order. Alternately, the court may order child support in accordance with the North Carolina Child Support Guidelines or some deviation therefrom.

North Carolina Child Support Basics

The child support guidelines are intended to provide child support awards that are fair and equitable to the child and both of the child’s parents. They are based on the presumption that both parents are responsible for the support of their minor children, and, as such, either parent can be ordered to pay child support.

North Carolina applies the “income shares” model of child support. The amount of child support each parent would owe the other is calculated, and the amounts are offset against each other, with one parent paying the other the net amount.

Child support is calculated based on the following factors

  • Both parents’ gross incomes
  • Work-related child care expenses
  • Pre-existing child support obligations and responsibility for other children
  • Payments for health insurance premiums
  • Extraordinary expenses for a child’s education, medical expenses, or transportation in some cases

Further, there are three sets of guidelines and accompanying worksheets, depending on what the family’s physical custody arrangement is:

  • Worksheet A is used when one parent has primary physical custody, meaning the child lives with that parent for at least 243 nights during the year.
  • Worksheet B is used when each parent has the child living with them for at least 123 nights per year and is financially responsible for all of the child’s expenses during his or her parenting time. With a Worksheet B child support calculation, there is intended to be a “true sharing” of expenses because the children spend more time with both parents.
  • Worksheet C is used when one parent has primary custody of at least one of the children for whom support is being determined and the other parent has primary custody of the other child or children.

The child support guidelines are presumed to be correct, unless one party can make a showing that application of the guidelines would be unjust. North Carolina law provides for deviation from guideline amounts under certain limited circumstances.

Personalized Help from Experienced Charlotte Family Law Attorneys

At Sodoma Law, we know that the process of accurately calculating a child support award can be very daunting, whether as part of a divorce proceeding or a motion for modification. We take ample time to consult with our clients, understand their concerns, and gather the information that will result in the most equitable outcome for them and their children.

Although much of the calculation involves processing numbers, our attorneys remain ever mindful that there are real people who will be deeply affected by those calculations: our clients and their families.

The attorneys at Sodoma Law work with child support clients in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and throughout Western North Carolina. We handle initial child support determinations, modifications, enforcement issues, and more. We look forward to working with  you and your family.

Use our online Child Support Calculator to estimate the Child Support for your situation or Contact our Charlotte divorce lawyers about Child Support.

Contact our family law attorneys by filling out the form below, or use the menu to the right for more information on our specific family law services.

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